We know this because you made AgentPress not only a top seller among real estate themes, but among all themes available to WordPress users.

Brian Gardner, Founder of StudioPress and creator of AgentPress says, “It’s been a top seller in the StudioPress gallery for the last 18 months”.

We also know that you were ready for some changes, and so AgentPress has evolved. The new version launches today and our Agent Evolution team is proud to have had the opportunity to collaborate again with Brian on this latest release.

GREATER FUNCTIONALITY

The most notable difference from the first version to the new AgentPress is with how listing management is integrated.  Listings are now entered as custom post types via the accompanied AgentPress Listings Plugin (which you can download for free). FYI- Integrating your listings via the plugin makes this data portable to future theme upgrades.  This new functionality makes blogging your listings easier and more systematized.

FLEXIBLE DESIGN

The AgentPress 2.0 design is sleek and extremely flexible. It comes in 5 colors, but of course you can always rock custom design and branding.  So whether you’re an exclusive listing agent highlighting beach front property with amazing photos and video, or a community focused blogger posting content on a regular basis…AgentPress is modular so you can add and remove what you need to fit your marketing strategy.

HOME PAGE IMAGE 1

HOME PAGE IMAGE 2

The above example showcases just one version of the new layout. You decide what you want to feature: listings, communities, blog articles, etc. Isn’t it about time your website was designed with features and content that meet your business goals, and deliver value to your clients? We think so.

In fact, Chad Johnson, President and COO of Agent Evolution says, “The move to AgentPress 2.0 is all about flexibility. The homepage layout is flexible enough to allow major changes without touching a line of code. And the listing plugin makes it easier for new features to be added with a one-click upgrade.”

Another benefit of  the AgentPress theme is that it’s built on the Genesis Framework. So it’s now possible to have a website that is lightweight and search engine optimized without bulky plugins slowing your load times.

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE

If you’re a do-it-yourself, check the the AgentPress tutorials provided by Brian. But if you’re in the have-it-done camp, give us a shout and we’d be happy to consult with you on your website goals.

I’m excited to announce I’ll be sharing my WordPress expertise online via a series of upcoming classes…available to you, for free!

This will be a great opportunity if you’re ready for a Website with more freedom and functionality.  Or maybe you’ve been hearing how WordPress assists you in your overall marketing plan? Whatever the case, I’ll be providing a Webinar series is for those of you that are new to WordPress and ready to navigate this powerful platform.

Each Webinar will take place on a Wednesday at 11am PDT. The first 30 minutes will be a presentation given by yours truly, with an extra 15 minute segment from 11:30-11:45 dedicated to you and your WP questions. In fact, Chad Johnson (Co-Founder & COO – Agent Evolution) will be joining me during this time to provide his technical expertise.

So go ahead, register now for one or all of the upcoming classes! It’s time to get your blog on!

July 6 – 11am Pacific: WordPress for Real Estate 101: Why WordPress?

Learn why real estate professionals are choosing WordPress for their professional Website, but also as a marketing command center. Understand the differences between both WordPress platforms, how to get started and where to turn for help!

July 20 – 11am Pacific: WordPress for Real Estate 102: Developing YOUR Content Strategy

Every real estate professional possesses a unique combination of knowledge, expertise and interests. So isn’t it about time your real estate Website reflect that combination?!  Learn how to differentiate yourself online by creating relevant content (aka: blog posts) that positions you as a trusted advisor, generating you more business!

August 10 – 11am Pacific: WordPress for Real Estate 103: Post & Promote

Learn how to post your articles and videos on your WordPress site, as well as how to promote your relevant content via social media and traditional communication channels. Get a step by step guide to optimize your sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, email, and even print!

Looking to get started with your own WordPress site? Contact the Agent Evolution team! We can help!

Of course it’s a wonderful thing to improve user experience on your site. But it shouldn’t come at price…which is often a bloated blog with a slow load time. Nobody wants that! So, whether you’re new to WordPress or looking to optimize site performance I’ve narrowed my list of favorite plugins down to the must-haves and organized them into 5 categories. Take a look…

(1) IDX Home Search:

Make it easy for your users to search for and find real estate in your local market. Diverse Solutions and IDXBroker are as good as it gets! Both offer easy home search integration, but Diverse takes it a step further with their IDXPress Plugin which literally puts the MLS on your blog!

(2) Lead Gen Forms:

So whatcha, whatcha, whatcha want, whatcha want!? Whether you’re offering a CMA, other market data, a newsletter or just yourself via contact info…make sure your visitors can get what they want. Use Gravity Forms, Pop Up Domination, or the MailChimp List Subscribe Form to create the perfect lead generation opportunity on your site!

(3) Market Data:

If you’re creating neighborhood pages or want to become a regular source of market trend data consider adding: Altos Research or Simple Real Estate Pack.This type of content is an extremely valuable for helping consumers digest market trends in their local area. It’s also a great way to supplement other written or video content you create.

(4) Site Performance:

What good is a beautiful site with robust content and features if you can’t access it! So be sure you’re backing up your site regularly (should anything every happen) with Backup Buddy and ensure your site has a faster load time with W3 Total Cache.

(5) Social Integration:

Not only do share controls help you promote and track your own content, but you’re also providing that important functionality to your site visitors. Give them the power to tell others about a great resource they know….you! Consider adding share controls with purpose. Send content to the obvious places with Facebook Likes and Twitter Shares. You may also want to try out Google’s new +1 button. And don’t be afraid to go oldschool with a “Print this Post ” type of feature. Some of us still enjoy printing for reference or sharing with a friend. To create your own mashup of share controls, check out the options available from Jetpack.

I should also mention that smart WP developers (aka Chad Johnson & Dave Bonds) can add share controls like the Facebook Share & Like buttons, and even Google’s +1 by coding them directly into the template.

Chad Johnson (COO, Agent Evolution) says, “This provides the same functionality with less overhead than a plugin.”

And Dave Bonds (Director of Web Design, Agent Evolution) adds, “We do it that way because you can’t always control where the plugin will put the button, so we make it easy by grouping them all together.”

MyTechOpinion:

Clearly you don’t need all of the mentioned plugins. You might find some work better than others depending on your WordPress theme, which is why I ALWAYS recommend the Genesis Framework w/ the AgentPress Theme. So take a look at the current state of your site and pick one category from above that you could improve on! And just do it!

Clearly the Girl Scouts, being the savvy salesgirls they are, embarked on a new distribution strategy for their delectables this year! My little neighbor not only informed me I could purchase cookies on the spot, but also introduced me to their new iPhone app in case I needed to locate more in the near future. She even gave me her card that included a link to her troop’s Website and email newsletter!  Now I can get all the news and tips I need to suffice all my cookie cravings!

Go Girl Scouts! They get it! They recognized the need to update their distribution strategy to better meet the needs of their targets. So I ask you…when was the last time you updated your distribution strategy?!

If you are carefully crafting your marketing message and uniquely relevant content, you should be placing that same effort into how you share the message and content with your network.  Blindly blanketed your networks with the same postings is not only annoying, but completely ineffective.

When you post an article to your own Website, your goal should be to utilize channels like Facebook, Twitter or email to drive your targets back to the cookies (I mean the source of the content). When you have something delicious to share that folks want and you consistently tease them (in an informative fashion) you are positioning yourself as the source of the cookies. If I want more cookies…I KNOW where to go to get more!

But this strategy can fail quickly from 2 major mis-steps posting in our favorite networks…(1) treating every network exactly the same AND (2) the set it and forget it mentality.

Depending upon the communication channels you participate in, posting or sharing your relevant content will involve different nuances that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Don’t Treat Facebook Like it’s Twitter, & Vice Versa

When you post your blog article to Facebook, be sure to include the link back to your site (which will usually pull in the image and description associated with the post). Then add your own commentary…giving us a reason to want to click the link and read more. Ask a question, share an important aspect of the article or one suggestion…but never recap the entire article or say, “check this out, or click here for more info”.  FYI: saying “check this out” as your commentary is about as exciting as when someone comments on your post with “thanks for sharing”.

When you post your blog article to Twitter using the title can be simple and effective, but don’t forget to add a short URL directing folks back to your site. If you plan to re-post that article during different times of the day or during the week, I suggest mixing it up. Tweet an enticing quote from your article or highlight one specific tip but allude to more.

Don’t Set It & Forget It

Just because you have a distribution strategy doesn’t mean you’re off the hook when it comes to responding. Whether you post to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or send via email…be sure you have the proper notifications set so that you can get back to those who engage with your content.  That is the goal after all….to provide your expertise to those who need it and want it. And if those targeted folks are engaging with your expertise don’t drop the ball by missing opportunities to answer questions, provide additional assistance or take the online engagement…offline!

MyTechOpinion

Take a cue from the Girl Scouts! Modify your distribution strategy if you know you could be delivering delicious cookies to your targets in a more effective manner.

If you don’t have a distribution strategy, it’s time you did.  And if you need help establishing your own content management hub online, talk to us! Agent Evolution can ROCK you a WordPress site or Facebook Page to better market your real estate business, expertise and listings online.

Brian is the Founder of StudioPress, Creator of the Genesis Framework, Partner in Copyblogger Media, and fellow Starbucks addict. He’s also been a mentor and colleague to Reggie, Chad and I over the years.  Suffice it to say, there is much admiration for the design, clean code and functionality that he brings to WordPress.  In addition, Brian has developed the #1 real estate specific theme, some of you may already be familiar with, AgentPress.

I’ll be picking Brian’s brain on the benefits of using WordPress for your real estate business. I’ll also be focusing on design elements, content and features that make for (as I always say) a ROCKIN’ blog! So you won’t want to miss a minute, scratch that, a second of this powerful session. Brian will only be making a special appearance in Chicago!

Get all the details and the conference schedule for Agent Reboot Chicago.  FYI- Sign up online and save 50%! Also, we’ll be tweeting up the night before Reboot (4/19)…so join us!

So here it goes! If you have a WordPress site (particular those of you on the Genesis platform) and a Facebook Page in need of some serious love (aka content)….I’d like to introduce you to fbPressPage, from Agent Evolution! This is a WordPress and Genesis Framework specific add-on that brings your site content into your Facebook Page as a tab.

As a Facebook Page Admin, you’re faced with the challenge of trying to provide content (listings, community, neighborhood, market data, etc) on your Facebook Page, or searching for the right app that will attempt to do it for you. fbPressPage gives you the ability to customize your Facebook Page Tab with your WordPress content and features…and you can do it right from the WordPress Admin.

What EXACTLY does fbPressPage do?

Skies the limit! But when it comes to showcasing your real estate and local market expertise you can add the following to your fbPressPage: (1) IDX home search, (2) featured listings, (3) city or neighborhood specific content, (4) school info and scores, (5) market trend data, (6) contact forms, (7) recent blog posts, etc.

Let’s see how this looks in Facebook! Check out the “Real Estate” tab for facebook.com/TriValley365 in the gallery below. This tab highlights 5 cities in the Tri-Valley region, which also happen to be city specific pages created within WordPress. Notice the tab offers home search powered by Diverse Solutions. The Simple Real Estate Pack (also a plugin) provides school data from Education.com, as well as market trend graphs from Trulia.

What’s the benefit of fbPressPage?

fbPressPage utilizes the functionality of your WordPress site to better optimize your Facebook Tabs. So the valuable features and content you have on your WP site can be widgetized into an individual tab that loads right into your Facebook Page.

If you have IDX home search on your site, with fbPressPage, you now have that functionality inside Facebook. View featured listings and search for homes in particular markets. Got neighborhood pages or market stats on your site, make them twice as useful. Add a contact form or other calls to action. Or maybe you’re a content creator? Feature your blog posts along with improved sharing via Facebook and Twitter.

Another key benefit of using fbPressPage is that it can fangate your Facebook Page content. So when someone lands on your Facebook Page the content on your custom tab will be semi-visible (grayed out). A pop-up box will appear asking users to “Like” your page in order to gain access to your custom content and features. <coming in version 1.1> And if you’re an early adopter, don’t worry…we can add it in for you with the new release!

fbPressPage can also clean up your Facebook Page clutter. Too many inefficient apps can distract your audience and make your brand and messaging unclear. Rock your own content, simplify your calls to action and make it easy for your connections to get the info they’re looking for.

Learn more about fbPressPage

This is a premium WordPress add-on. A site license can be purchased for a one-time set-up fee of $199. Visit fbPressPage.com to learn more or make a request!

Prerequisites: You need to have a site built with WordPress.org and the Genesis Framework. Not on Genesis? We can build or move your site to Genesis, as well as hook you up with fbPressPage for Facebook.

MyTechOpinion

Now clearly I’m a fan of fbPressPage for the reasons mentioned above.  But simply put,  it’s just one more reason to ROCK WordPress and Facebook…a powerful marketing combination!

It’s all good…every blogger (aka “Content Creator”) has glared at the computer monitor trying to recall a post idea only to allow yourself to be distracted by the dog, the kids, the glass of wine. Becoming a content creator is tough (at first), so here are a few tips that may make the process of writing your next community-focused post much easier.

Create a Blog Topic List

First, if you don’t already have a blog topic list now’s the time to start one. This is a list of topics you are passionate about and that your audience can benefit from. And when it comes to writing hyperlocal content your list could include:

• Arts (theatre, gallery, performance)
• Business (newly opened, changed locations, bargains, specials)
• Charity (fundraisers, causes, events)
• Dance (events, lessons, instructors)
• Dog Fun (parks, trails, grooming, stores)
• Educational (school scores, events,
• Entertainment (kids, families, date night)
• Exhibit (art, wine, cars, etc)
• Family Fun (best activities & restaurants)
• Farmers Market (locations, produce, unique finds)
• Fresh Produce (what’s in season, recipes)
• Gardening (native planting, nurseries, tips)
• Gift Ideas (holidays, stores, tips, homemade)
• History (stories, points of interest, landmarks)
• Movies (new release, reviews)
• Museum (hours, exhibits, experience)
• Music (new release, reviews, shows)
• Parks (descriptions, maps, trails, dog friendly, kid friendly)
• People (clients, residents, business owners, volunteers, advisors)
• Real Estate (your listings, neighborhood spotlight, new building, laws affecting)
• Recreation (activities, suggestions)
• Restaurants (reviews, favorites, suggestions)
• Science (events, ideas)
• Seasonal (fun found in your area: winter, spring, summer, fall)
• Special Notices (new laws, meetings, chamber of commerce)
• Sports (events, clubs, gyms, races, games, tips)
• Transportation (options, schedules, changes)
• Uniqueness (What’s special about where you live & work?)

In order to write good posts that truly hit home with your audience, you need to clearly pinpoint WHO it is you’re trying to reach (demographic & geographic criteria). If you’re focused on first time buyers and young families…think like them. What info do they ask you for, how do they spend their time, what concerns them, etc.  Also, don’t be afraid to narrow the gap…or widen it! If there are 12 agents in your market already writing about your city, consider getting uber-focused on a particular neighborhood(s) or expand your emphasis to a region (i.e. Silicon Valley). But whatever you decide…carve that niche and stay consistent!

Anatomy of a GOOD Post

Alright, you’ve decided on the topic for your post…let’s say it’s an upcoming fundraiser held by the local high school.  Here’s what you should include:

MUST HAVE:

1. Post title (include location or topic)
2. Topic details (when is the event, where is it, why should I check it out)
3. Keep it short (200 words, no more than 300)
4. Link to original details (Website, Facebook Page, etc)
5. Include an image with your post (photo of location or topic)

WHEN POSSIBLE:

1. Provide a personal experience or story related to what you share (been there, done that?)
2. Interview someone involved (event chair, business owner, volunteer, etc.) & include the video in your post
3. Facilitate connecting (provide Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, other social channels for topic being shared)

Getting the word out!

Once you’ve posted your hyperlocal article on your blog…it’s time to get the word out! Do any or all of the following:

1. Post your article as an update on Facebook. Use the link feature to pull in the article image and description. Include commentary to frame your update with a reason for reading your article. Don’t tell us what your post is about, ask us if we’ve heard of the topic or share a related tip that sparks our interest.
2. Tweet your blog post title with a short (& trackable) URL back to your site.
3. If you’re using WordPress (you’re extremely smart) you can add the WordPress app to your Linkedin profile which will aggregate your most recent WP blog posts on your professional profile.
4. Share your post via email newsletter with your sphere list.
5. Create a print version of your article and use it as a targeted farm piece.
6. Turn on your Web cam and talk about this great event or interview someone involved, upload to YouTube (and share elsewhere).

What are you waiting for?

You’ve got ideas, you know what to include in your post, and you’ve got skillz for promoting your hyperlocal content….so, what are you waiting for? There’s no better time to position yourself as the Trusted Advisor, the Super Agent….the AUTHORITY in your local market area!

You know, the place where you share your expertise, showcase your listings, and deliver relevant content. The place that helps:

(1) your sphere stay up to date with your market,

(2) potential clients get the information they need to take the next step, and

(3) makes current clients extremely happy they chose to work with you because clearly, you know how to facilitate interest in their home and community!

And finally, the place that makes having an online marketing strategy make sense. Yes that place is your Website, but in 2011 that place should be your WordPress blog site.

It’s not why WordPress….it’s when.

Well, actually it IS still a question of “why WordPress” for many of you. Yes, there are more than a few blog platforms out there but none that are supported in quite the same way. There is good reason afterall that nearly 10% of ALL Websites have been created on the WordPress platform!

WordPress is extremely flexible.  A WordPress site can match your goals and deliver the type of content that matters most to your targets.

WordPress puts you back in the driver’s seat. With proper training a WordPress site gives the user the power to easily update and manage their site.

And WordPress helps the right people find you…because frequent content, rockin’ SEO, and utilizing other social channels like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube is a recipe for online success!

Content Marketing IS your Field of Dreams!

You’ve got expertise…so instead of sharing “barrowed” content (article, video, photo, etc) that sends your targets to other Wesbites…send them to a highly relevant resource, you!

This way the next time you’re looking to share an article on Facebook giving locals 5 great reasons to live in the Oaks Neighborhood or advice on how to face the insurmountable task of spring cleaning…write it yourself, post it yourself…and they will come! And when they do, be sure to provide them with an opt-in way to get more of your expertise via an email newsletter.

Yes, creating your own content is time consuming, but it has the greatest payoff…Google will show you that…and you’re new clients will thank you for it!

ROCK a Distribution Strategy!

Now for the best part about having an online hub! When you write a post and share it on your WordPress blog site, it’s really just the beginning of an online marketing strategy that has some serious legs! Your post will be indexed by Google making it easy for your targets to find you via search. It also becomes very easy (for you & others) to share that post to Facebook, to Twitter, to Linkedin, etc. You can take that same post and make it a script for a video. You can again use that same post for more traditional marketing like print newsletters for your geographic farms, or even email newsletters for your sphere.

Now there is an art to how you distribute content because we don’t want to spam people with the same exact message across numerous platforms. But once you select the channels that make sense for your goals and your sphere, you can create a distribution flow that will work time and again.

MyTechOpinion

As the first month of 2011 comes to a close, I think it’s time to evolve some of the strategies we used last year. It’s great to see many of you actively participating in a number of social channels….but I challenge you to step it up. Using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube alone are not enough. You need to have an online hub with regular content and features you can share like digital breadcrumbs leading the right people back to the source! Otherwise you’re online marketing efforts will be the death of you, well not literally, but you know what I mean!

But, what if you have an event you are producing yourself? Maybe that event requires managing RSVP’s or even selling tickets to the event. You’ll need a more specialized system than a basic calendar. Fortunately, there are several WordPress plugins that will help you pull your event off without a hitch.

Advanced Events Registration Pro Version

The first option is an add-on to one of my favorite WordPress calendar plugins, Calendar by Kieran O’Shea. By adding the Advanced Events Registration Pro Version, you will be able to:

• Accept Paypal payments for tickets
• Limit the total number of attendees
• Offer multiple pricing options
• Export attendee lists to Excel

This is a premium plugin, so it will set you back $50 and $5 a month for support and upgrades. This shouldn’t be seen as a drawback as premium plugins tend to be supported better and development on new features is quicker.

Eventbrite for The Events Calendar

This second option is also a combination of 2 plugins, as well. The first plugin is The Events Calendar, a quality WordPress event calendar with Google Maps integration and an attractive full-width calendar page. Adding Eventbrite for The Events Calendar introduces the functionality of the Eventbrite service. For those unfamiliar with Eventbrite, it is a third-party event management system that allows users to:

• Accept ticket payments through credit card, Paypal or Google Checkout
• Promote their event through email, search engines and social networks
• Generate custom name badges and attendee lists
• Create time-sensitive offers like early registration discounts

The benefit of using the WordPress plugin with Eventbrite is that most event management tasks can be done from your WordPress admin panel. Putting on successful short sale seminars and other educational events takes a lot of work. Using a quality event management system will insure a better experience for you and your attendees.

Now when it comes to selecting a WordPress theme that delivers a clean design, variety of options, highly optimized code, and customer support….the MTO team chooses StudioPress. Which has been a great theme option for us and our Web design clients. But now theme legend, Brian Gardner, is back and has developed AgentPress, specifically for the real estate industry. In fact, we’ve partnered with Brian to offer customization and consultation for AgentPress theme users.

We’re excited about this new theme (yes, because partnering with Brian ROCKS) and because it brings together the best features of StudioPress: sleek appearance, clean code base….but also integrates listings with custom property templates. So now when you’re adding listings to your blog, all you need to do is upload an image once and Brian’s AgentPress theme dynamically auto-sizes it for you. Uploading a listing with WordPress has never been easier! And if you’ve been looking for a way to archive your sold listings, this theme will take care of that for you too!

We choose to use AgentPress because once customized with your selected features and content, you’ll have a blog that makes an impact with your local market, impresses your clients, delivers relevant resources, and helps you better maintain relationships with your sphere.

We can help you customize your real estate blog with highly relevant content and resources to benefit your local market. Some of the customizations we feel an innovative real estate blog should have, include: IDX search, local market and real estate trend data powered by Cyberhomes ,Walkscore, & others, neighborhood & school score data, Facebook Connect or Fan Box integration, as well as  lifestreaming multiple social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc.)and shares.

Visit AgentPress to learn more and if you’d like assistance with AgentPress customization, contact us at info@mytechopinion.com. Got questions or comments, drop us a line right here!

One of the web hosting companies that we have grown very fond of over the last 2 years is Bluehost.com. This straight forward hosting service provides a level of service and low price that is hard to find. Here are the key reasons we use Bluehost and recommend it to our clients.

Cost

With monthly rates as low as $6.95 and no set-up fee, Bluehost is very economical. There is 1 hosting plan offered, so registration is simple. Pricing is based on how many months you pay in advance. Go with a year or more for discounted rates, you can cancel at any time and will receive a refund for unused time.

The hosting plan includes unlimited space and bandwidth, 2500 email accounts and a domain name (which you can take with you if you leave).

Support

Customer support is something you don’t think about until you need it. Bluehost offers 24/7 phone support and a live chat service. The live chat is wonderful for quick questions, but the phone wait isn’t bad, either.

Speed

Not talking about how fast a page loads, rather the speed at which actions take place on your hosting account. Many web hosting companies can take hours, if not days, to create your account and point your domain name to it. With Bluehost, this takes minutes. Installing WordPress is a few clicks away and available for use immediately. Want to change email service to an Outlook Exchange host or Gmail? MX record changes are easy and take effect in minutes.

Flexibility

There are few things more frustrating than working on a feature for your site, only to find out that it won’t work on your web server. Right behind that in the frustration department is having to troubleshoot a website problem caused by server settings.

Bluehost has configured their servers to accommodate the open source trend that has brought us web solutions like WordPress, Drupal, BuddyPress and more. It would be hard to find an easier platform to run WordPress on.

With the ability to have 999 sub-domains, parked domains and add-on domains, you can run multiple websites from a single account. This is handy for the real estate agent whose has been collecting domain names over the years. Now they can all lead somewhere.

We here at MTO recommend Bluehost web hosting. If you use our Bluehost affiliate link, MyTechOpinion gets credit for referring you to their company.

While plugins can be a blessing, they also can cause problems with a website. This can come in the way of slow website performance or error messages.

One common error message experienced by those getting a bit “plugin happy” (activating a lot of plugins on a single WordPress installation) is that of the “Fatal Error: Allowed memory size…” error.

This error message is a result of WordPress exceeding it’s predetermined memory limit. Activating several large, high-functionality plugins can easily cause this problem.

Luckily, there is an easy fix.

WordPress sets its memory limits within the wp-settings.php file. All that has to be done is change the memory limit from “32M” to “64M”.

Here are the step by step instructions:

• Open wp-settings.php in your favorite code editor. This file is in the root directory of your WordPress installation
• Go to line #13 of wp-settings.php and locate ’32M’
• Change the “32″ to “64″
• Save the file and FTP it to your server

Once this is complete, you should have no problems activating those large plugins. Keep in mind that too many plugins can negatively affect website performance, so choose your plugins wisely and only add those that add value to the visitor experience.

For assistance with this or any other WordPress website related issue or need, contact MyTechOpinion and our MTO Sites design team.

If you’re not familiar already, FB launched “Facebook Connect” similar to Google’s Friend Connect. The goal of these utilities is to make your social profiles portable. Many social networks, like Twitter, have already taken sides and aligned themselves with Google.  But the power of Facebook’s enormous network still impresses me.  Even the “non-technicals” are investing time in their profiles and connections. And with more than 110 million users, Facebook’s Webprint is making for an obvious social alliance…for your blog!

Facebook Connect can kickstart your real estate blog community ON YOUR BLOG! WordPress users are in luck and can add FB Connect to their blog by downloading the Facebook Connect WordPress Plugin. Your FB friends can instantly become members of your blog using their FB login. FB Connect adds your profile into the site that you’re on bringing your network of friends with you.  Your FB friends that visit your site will appear in a “recent reader” type widget. You can view people in your Facebook network who also belong to the same blog community or newbies with similar interests (to add to your network). FB Connect routes comments made on your blog back to Facebook profiles.  AND, because FB Connect is integrated with your blog you are also able to grow your database for blog newsletter distribution.

Getting started:

(1)    Create a Facebook profile, if you don’t already have one

(2)    Sign up for developer account at Facebook

(3)    Download the Facebook Connect WordPress Plugin

(4)    Upload and activate the plugin for your WordPress blog

(5)    You will need to paste the API Key and Secret from Facebook and set other features

(6)    Then click “Design” and then “Widgets” to add to FB Connect to your sidebar

(7)    Further customization will need to be done through the CSS

Shortly after I discovered this plug-in I reached out to Roger for an Interview.  I was intrigued and wanted to know more about the motivation behind the product and more about the future road map. Please enjoy our conversation below.

Hello Roger, I’m very impressed with your new real estate plug-in. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Are you a real estate agent?

Yes, I’ve been an agent for 4 1/2 years, with Illustrated Properties, specializing in listings. I’m also still in web development. I was with Motorola for 13 years and was their first corporate content “webmaster” in the days when they didn’t have a corporate web department and the various product groups were just starting to get on the web. I got into the real estate industry in 2002 (starting with mortgages) after Motorola started shutting down its facility here in Palm Beach County, Florida. I may wind up doing more software development and less real estate. I’m originally from Canada and grew up doing both software development and photography and publishing, so the web kind of brought the two together for me and real estate allows me to continue that.

What was the motivation behind your Great Real Estate Plug-In for WordPress?

I have always been an advocate of content management over HTML editing of web pages. I developed custom content management at Motorola’s paging group back in 1996 and when I set up my real estate site in 2004, I developed content management capabilities using PHP and MySQL so my site would be consistent, and to make it easy for me to add photos and update listings. Late in 2007 I started using WordPress and this year decided its content management capabilities were mature enough that I could toss all my old code and rebuild upon WordPress. A good web presence is becoming even more important in real estate every year… I’d always planned to create a solution for other agents to use, and the ability to make a plug-In with real estate functionality (and not have to worry about the complex engine it runs on, or replicating other features), allowed me to finally accomplish that. That’s what’s great about building on WordPress. The plug in is still a work in process… my goal is a plug-In that is clear, not convoluted, and that supports real estate practices around the world and not just the US. (Hopefully the plug-In is already relatively easy to install and use for the average agent.)

In your mind what advantage does WordPress offer real estate agents?

Just a few years ago agents had a choice of two evils: a very expensive custom designed website that might tie them to a developer or solution provider (and usually difficult to update), or a template real estate solution that resulted in less than optimal search engine friendliness. Content management capabilities have been poor. When your site has the exact same boilerplate on buying or selling as a few thousand other sites and it’s not specific to your market, you’re not going to turn up in a search. I’ve always suggested to other agents that they write all their own web content, or if they hire someone to help them write, that it reflect them and be unique, useful, and highly relevant to their market. Closing procedures are vastly different between California and Florida, for example, and consumers need specifics. It’s still a local industry requiring local knowledge. WordPress allows you to have a unique site at a low cost, and easily create new pages without worrying about HTML or paying a web designer each time you need to tweak your wording. It just hasn’t allowed agents to manage their property listings as well as a custom or template real estate site. Hopefully I can help with that.

Can you share any future plans for “Great Real Estate” Plug-In?

Sure! Part of the future of the plug in is going to come from user feedback. I’m already hearing from some agents who want to use it for vacation rentals. They need a few extra fields and things. And the first release only has the basic features to get your listings exposed… so I have a small list of ideas for additional features and modules. The next release will have a few extra “featured homes” widgets, including a map display of all your listings (you can preview that at http://rogertheriault.com/listings), and some admin user interface improvements. Maybe a few more XML listing syndication formats.  I don’t expect every install of my plug-in to come from an agent, there are a lot of WordPress service providers setting up sites for agents, but I know from my experience that the interface will need to be agent friendly so the agents can use it as part of their business.

Some possible new features might be a Flash “virtual tour” app that could be an option for presenting a listing on a click-through from sites such as Realtor.com. Not as a replacement for XHTML but as an additional interface. And I’m also looking at a showings manager so that agents can keep track of home showings. This would lead to a home seller login so the sellers can see how their listing is being managed and facilitate better agent-seller communication.

Most of the features are aimed at listing agents at present. The quality of marketing and relationship management between an average agent and a good agent can really make a difference in how quickly a home sells and a seller’s satisfaction level. I think listing agents need to provide the best possible marketing and service to succeed so consumers can get better value and be less likely to turn to some of the “post your listing” sites out there, and this Plug-In will hopefully help many agents do just that.

Thanks for your time Roger! And for all you real estate agents looking for a powerful and effective way to display your listings with WordPress you have a new tool! Have fun activating!

Great Real Estate is a new WordPress plug-in designed to assist real estate agents in displaying and marketing their listings online. This free plug-in was created by Roger Theriault; a developer/Realtor. To recognize the full potential of this plug-in, you should also install and activate the following plug-ins:

• NextGen Gallery: Adds integrated property photo galleries
• WordTube: Integrates property video
• FPP-Pano: Integrates 360 panorama
• DownloadManager : Integrates PDF attachments (i.e. disclosures, brochures etc.)
• Feed Wrangler: Adds listing feeds for listing syndication and display

So how does the Great Real Estate Plug-In work?

For starters, a new tab is created in your WordPress admin titled “Real Estate.” Once the settings have been customized, you can add & manage your listings from this area. When adding a listing, you’ll notice the plug-in adds an expandable field below the text editor titled “Real Estate – Property Information”.  From here you can set Property Status, Address, Price, Dates, Marketing Verbiage, Physical Characteristics, and Features. You can also select a corresponding photo album, upload a QTVR file and set your properties geo-coordinates for a Google Map of the property.

Because this plug-in leverages default WordPress pages you can also bet that once you’ve added your listings, they will become optimized on Google and other search engines. To increase your listings optimization you may also utilize the All-In-One-SEO plug-in.  This will help you ensure the meta-data accurately represents the home.

Now that your listings have been featured on your blog’s listing page, the next question you’ll be asking is, “How can I feature listings on other pages of the blog?”  Simply access the Widget’s area of WordPress Admin (WP-Admin > Design > Widgets) and look for “Featured Listings.” Then click “edit” from the featured widgets pane. Here you can easily adjust how the properties are displayed: thumbnails, or list. For advanced users, you can also add a small line of code to one of your template pages and have the featured properties appear in a custom area. See more here.

The Great Real Estate plug-in also leverages FeedRangler to help you market your listings on Google Base, Trulia and Zillow. It also enables you to create a property feed for displaying listings in MyYahoo! and iGoogle. See more about the feeds here.

Read my Inerview with Roger here!

To accomplish my goal, I will cover two different methods. The first method will be for real estate agents using WordPress, and the second method is for all other platforms or traditional Websites.

For both examples you will need a Google Maps API key. If you do not already have an API Key for your domain, get started here before continuing.

METHOD 1: WordPress Users – Google Maps Plugin For WordPress

You are lucky; this is going to be an easy task. Matt Bercon has built a very slick WordPress Plug-In for adding maps to your blog with local search. Start by downloading the plug-in here. If you need instructions on adding a plug-In to your blog read this. Once you’ve activated the Google Maps plug-In for WordPress, go to Settings then click WP Google Maps. You’ll see where you can insert the Google API key you acquired earlier. Also setup various aspects of the map(s) properties such as neighborhood or city, zoom level, map style, and whether or not to include local search.

If you’ll be including more than one map on your blog, this plug-in will allow you to override the global settings by including any settings you want changed. For example in your post you could include:

[wp-google-maps lat= 37.75999,lon-122.40091,zoom=12,width=450,height=350, zoomcontrol=small,map=true,sat=true,hyb=true,ter=false,searchbox=true]

METHOD 2: Other Platforms or Traditional Websites

OK, this method is pretty easy too! All because of Google’s powerful mapping technology, and their wonderful examples.  Many of which would be valuable on a real estate Website. The map I’m highlighting here includes local search and street view. (Street View although amazing, is not available in all areas.)  All the same ideas mentioned above would apply here. If this is the type of interface you would like to add to your real estate website, follow these steps:

1.) Start by copying the following code into the head of your webpage. Between the <head> and </head>. Also add your API Key we it says REPLACE THIS TEXT WITH API KEY

<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://maps.google.com/maps?file=api&&v=2.x&key=REPLACE THIS TEXT WITH API KEY”></script>
<script type=”text/javascript”>
//<![CDATA[

var map;
var start;
var panorama;
var markers;
var currentMarkerNum;
var client;

function load() {
if (GBrowserIsCompatible()) {
var opts = { onMarkersSetCallback: processMarkers, resultList : G_GOOGLEBAR_RESULT_LIST_SUPPRESS, showOnLoad: true};
map = new GMap2(document.getElementById("map"), {googleBarOptions: opts});
start = new GLatLng(37.759994, -122.400913);
map.setCenter(start, 13);
map.enableGoogleBar();
map.addControl(new GSmallMapControl());
map.addOverlay(new GStreetviewOverlay());
client = new GStreetviewClient();
}
}

function processMarkers(m) {
markers = m;
for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++) {
addListener(markers[i].marker);
}
showPanoramaForMarker(markers[0].marker);
}

function addListener(marker) {
GEvent.addListener(marker, ‘click’, function() {
showPanoramaForMarker(marker);
});
}

function showPanoramaForMarker(marker) {
if (!panorama) {
panorama = new GStreetviewPanorama(document.getElementById(“pano”));
}
client.getNearestPanorama(marker.getLatLng(), onResponse);
}

function onResponse(response) {
if (response.code != 200) {
alert(‘No nearby panorama. Try new search or location.’);
} else if (response.code == 200) {
var latlng = new GLatLng(response.Location.lat, response.Location.lng);
panorama.setLocationAndPOV(latlng);
}
}
</script>

NOTE: You can use this tool to pinpoint the latitude and longitude of your neighborhood. Once you have those numbers, look for the following line in the script above:
start = new GLatLng(37.759994, -122.400913);

Replace 37.759994 with your latitude & -122.400913 with your longitude.

2.) Then look for

<body>

and replace with

<body onload=”load()” onunload=”GUnload()”>

3.) Add the following where you want the local search map and street view to show up.  Change the width and height as needed.

<div id=”map” style=”width: 500px; height: 350px”></div>
<div id=”pano” style=”width: 500px; height: 300px”></div>

Congratulations! If everything went as planned you have local search and mapping on your website. Let me know how these maps have been applied on your site.

Reggie had created MTO version 1 on the Blogger platform. Ouch! And secretly longed for his own WordPress blog…especially after creating so many rockin’ real estate blogs for others. However, he wouldn’t dare mess moving from Blogger without keeping our link structure intact. But after a little(LOTS) research, he decided to go with the Maintain Blogger Permalinks Plug-in. Reggie’s time finally came and we’re happy with the result.

You’ll notice that we’ve incorporated some new features along with better sorting ability to quickly identify helpful articles. Our new platform and design allows us to showcase more technology content.  We’ll be adding more video and social media tools as we get going here!

Please let us know what you think!

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The Bubble Gum Interviews – Each and every one of them is oddly fabulous! Finally someone gets to the heart of what we really care about…you know…drag racing in Houston, Starbucks, arm wrestling Chuck Norris or Brittney Spears. Thanks Lani, I look forward to the next one!

The Honor is All Mine! – It sucks to be overlooked. Just an oversight on their part I’m sure. But can I buy you at beer at the next Beers & Bloggers so that I can say I know you now?

Ten Marketing Tips You Can Learn From A Prostitute – An amazing introspective article detailing the dualities between prostitution and real estate. Very motivating!

Business Goals – A plan is good. A plan with real expectations is even better. Some of us need to plan our “nice time”. Thanks for the tip!

Top 5 Reasons Why You Wouldn’t Hire a Penguin as Your Next Realtor® – Yes, I run into Penguins from time to time at the gym. They are always the ones ignoring the “no cell phones” rule and insist on talking on their cell phones as I’m running on the treadmill….take it outside already!

Please Don’t Destroy My American Dream – This actually brought back nightmares of my former neighbors who held weekly BBQ’s on the roof of their 7 bedroom home. They had dirt bikes too. (Which I don’t mind enjoying on occasion.) But not while the neighbors are making their own “Jack Ass” movie dragging themselves on crates down my front lawn.

Mademoiselle? Oui. La Spinster?…ZUT! – “Bella Donna” sarebbe la mia scelta!

What I’ve Learned in Two Weeks of Real Estate Brokers Classes – Get to the point already!

WordPressing their widgets into your Facebooks! – Perfectly hilarious and smart!

And, I’m looking for “Dancing with the Bloggers” contestants. Still working on the logistics of the venue…it may have to take place in my gym locker room. But if you own an iPod and you have a little shake left if your booty….you’re in!